domain reseller accounts??

I would be really interested in knowing this too.

I actually never knew that "domain resellers" existed because I thought you needed a lisense to sell domains?? I must have been way off there!

well, I don't know about a license, but I do know that there is usually a yearly fee of about $100

I thought that was all for starting as a domain reseller

You guys/gals really don't seem to realize how cutthroat things are!..

SOME, like Enom have a fee, and the higher the fee the lower the price of the domain NAMES. It is almost like minutes on a cell phone. I don't think the name ever approaches godaddy's charge. MOST have an API, and I don't think many have a user interface.Enom says they NOW have a user interface though. Ironically, a MAJOR reseller might be able to give you a good price on a smaller purchase with enom. STILL, I don't think it is as low as godaddy.

SOME, like opensrs, have a high deposit. It USED to be $1000. I think the base cost for verisign domain names is STILL $10. You CAN lower it to $8 by becoming an "affiliate" but don't get your hopes up! THAT requires setting up a HUGE system with HUGE bandwidth for tucows. That is GREAT for large CLECS, but not really good for others.

SRSPLUS is the cheapest I have found that wouldn't require you to be practically a BANK! They USED to BEAT godaddy, but now they don't.

There WAS another way that could beat them all, but you had to be approved by ICANN, implement a user interface and get it tested. And it cost a fortune in MONEY/bonds. That is doubtless how Godaddy did it, and probably how most ****REAL**** ICANN approved resellers did it. Many that CLAIM to be ICANN approved AREN'T! You can always go through the list of ICANN approved companies for .com, and see if one provides a resell agreement, or price that meets your desires:

ICANN | ICANN-Accredited Registrars

ALSO, realize that icann only covers US domains and maybe those of US possessions. Others might not be available with a given reseller.

But to say you have enough to do this? With enom earlier, that could have been THOUSANDS! With that last method, at least earlier, it could be tens or hundreds of thousands. Godaddy's prices are just WAY too low. I think they may have 80% of their domain name prices as loss leaders. The private registration costs them almost NOTHING, but they used to sell it at a MUCH higher price than the domain name which has very little profit. So clearly, they DON'T price domain names low to be nice.

BTW last I knew, the startup cost for WWD was as low as $100, and that is a COST! You get NO credit or domains! The startup cost for opensrs was $1000, but that is a CREDIT! srsplus is a bit over a couple hundred dollars, but it is a CREDIT. The last method is a LOT and most is NOT a credit. So you can see there is no real standard.

BTW ChrisWater,

Reselling domains USED to be IMPOSSIBLE. Network Solutions(now verisign) was sued around 1999 which opened it up. It is COMPLICATED, VERY TECHNICAL, and they require certification and bonds(last I knew), so GOOD LUCK! SOME, like WWD(from godaddy), opensrs(From tucows), srsplus(which is from verisign), and perhaps a dozen others, last I knew, provided a SIMPLER API that ties into the main one. So you don't have to deal with the main interface and the legalities, etc... SOME even offer a user interface so you pay them, set it up, and it runs like an amazon affiliate site. I checked into about 7 of them, and WWD was the easiest all around and NOW it is even easier. Enom came in a close second. Actually, from the XML method, for simpler functions, enom won out. enom, last I knew, was the best supported by third party software. domaini was CLUNKY, and support was poor. I forget the others I tried, and don't even have the list I originally used.

Steve